Prof. Malkinski’s group is conducting diverse research on magnetic, ferroelectric
and semiconducting materials and their applications in information technology, spintronics,
wireless communications, sensors, nondestructive testing and biotechnology.

Current projects:

Next generation solar cells based on ferroelectric-semiconductor composites.

Self-assembly of complex architectures using micro-origami techniques. Flat thin film
patterns with residual stresses tend to fold and roll when released from a substrate
be selective etching, and form complex 3-dimensional structure, such as tubes, or
cages.

Multiferroic composites consisting of piezoelectric and magnetostrictive layers exhibit
strong magnetoelectric coupling which can be used to build highly sensitive magnetic
sensors or to control ferromagnetic resonance in microwave filters using voltage.

Core-shell nanoparticles of piezoelectric and magnetostrictive materials have potential
to remotely stimulate functions of voltage-gated ion channels in mammalian cells.
These nanoparticles placed alternating magnetic field can produce local electric field
in the vicinity of the cell and open or close ion channels. This is collaborative
research with Loyola University.

Ferronematics – composites of magnetic nanoparticles embedded into liquid crystals.
The presence of elongated magnetic nanoparticles allows control of polarization of
the liquid crystals with magnetic. This is a collaborative project with the University
of Colorado at Colorado Springs.

The main equipment available for these projects is the ultrahigh-vacuum sputtering
and evaporation system with in-vacuum analysis tools RHEED, LEED, RGA and Auger Spectroscopy.
Thin film patterns are made using Microwriter ML3 in “class 100” cleanroom. Instrumentation
in other AMRI laboratories is used for structural characterization and measurements
of magnetic, microwave and ferroelectric properties of the materials.